I randomly picked up Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained when they were first published in the mid 2000's, and was pleasantly entertained. I was a very upset teenager when I got to the end of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained hadn't been published yet.
It is not "hard" sci-fi in the classic sense, but has larger-than-life characters, mysteries, politics, criminals, and a good sense of humor.
The tone between those two books is different, but enjoyable.
As you are probably aware, there are more works of Banks to read, both in and outside the Culture universe, and my favorites are somewhere in there, I can't pin it down to one exactly.
It is not "hard" sci-fi in the classic sense, but has larger-than-life characters, mysteries, politics, criminals, and a good sense of humor.
The tone between those two books is different, but enjoyable.